What students say

Quotes from students at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama who have attended 8 week Mindfulness for Students training:

Clear mind

“Mindfulness has effectively challenged my thought processes towards performance anxiety and the practices have started to shift my whole anxiety level, not just before a performance.”

“I notice more small things which would usually pass me by. I have also learned that it is important to take time for myself, as there is often plenty of time to complete tasks that I have to complete.”

“Currently I believe that mindfulness has been 10/10 in importance for performance anxiety – it is so important to see things as they are and not how you imagine them to be.’

‘Mindfulness allows you to be much more focused and to concentrate much more – this makes practice more efficient and then when performing you feel much less stale and less distracted by other influences. I also believe it is a useful tool to help with general stress and I believe it has kept me sane for the past few weeks.”

“Not the expected result as it has helped me with life generally not just in performance which is great. No other options are out there and this has been a good forum for discussion too.”

“It calms me and relaxes me. It reminds me life can be simple and not to get bogged down with worry. It is useful to gain some daily perspective, and improved my mental wellbeing . Thank you very much. Importance 10/10”

“I feel calmer and more relaxed in general, it has given me:

Another coping mechanism for dealing with stress

Time to relax and unwind

Gives me valuable ‘ me’ time

Improved my patience

Improved my communication skills through focused thinking Importance”

“I suffer quite severely from low self esteem and stress as a result of it. This affects both my normal daily life [and] when interacting with others. This course has taught me to take a step back when I have judgmental thoughts about myself. I am now more aware of my surrounds and emotions. I am able to put things into perspective and acknowledge the things that make me happy in life and I have been reminded that all I need to do is relax, take a breath and just be myself. I will continue to use the techniques that I have learnt on this course.”

“I was already in an ok state of mind when I performed but often found myself getting stressed and anxious not knowing why. However now I feel I can spot the reasons and a lot of the time let them pass and stay calm ,remaining in the present – there are times where I still feel overwhelmed, but I am able to spot the indicators and ‘nip it in the bud.”

“All in all it has helped me and I’m happy I gave it a go… I am no longer sceptical about some of the processes and I’m happy with where I have got to now. Hopefully by continuing with the practices, I will improve even more!”

“Even though I wouldn’t say that I’ve seen a huge improvement in my mood and levels of stress yet, I can now see how mindfulness has the potential to help me long term. Before beginning the course I was sceptical about how mindfulness could help me especially with the extent to which personal issues were effecting my everyday life. I felt that I needed a quick, practical solution where I could see a direct link between the problem and the solution but I couldn’t see how mindfulness would offer this. However, even after the first course I could sense that I felt more grounded, calmer and less anxious.”

“Although the practice was sometimes a challenge to squeeze into a busy schedule and sometimes caused difficult emotions to arise I knew I had to persevere. As the course continued I began to notice how physical feelings were related to thoughts and behaviours. Consequently I began to realise that although I couldn’t change how I was feeling I could notice that the thoughts were only thoughts and therefore they didn’t need to dictate my behaviour.”

“Already I have begun to notice small changes both in my everyday life and as a musician. I was able to use the three minute breathing space to calm me before completing my short performance exam enabling me to perform to the best of my ability on stage without letting nerves interfere. In addition, I am now able to notice when I am getting anxious or unnecessarily stressed and I can use the mindfulness techniques I’ve learnt help me put things more into perspective and enable me to feel more grounded. Through further development and practice of these techniques I hope to see further improvement in my mood as I am able to take more control of how my thoughts and feelings affect me and therefore feel less stressed.”

“I would strongly recommend the Mindfulness program to anyone involved in the Performing Arts. Performance-wise, I found it allows you to become fore focussed and aware of your surroundings, which is ideal when you are communicating with an audience. I also found it really helpful on a personal level – to help put performances and practice sessions into perspective and to be less self-critical and more accepting of your progress when you feel you’re having a ‘tough’ day.”

“I’m continuing with the mindfulness – part of my “medication and meditation” approach as I really think they’re both important. I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to think of some witty comment that would encourage other students to practice it, but all I can say is that it gives me the chance to reach my full potential in all situations in life. With mindfulness I have an option out of the crippling fear, shakes and anxiety that set me back and the chance to believe that I could achieve my potential, in my recital, in a job interview and in social situations. The time I’ve invested in mindfulness has proven to be one of the best choices that I’ve made.”

Gaia House Young Persons retreat 28th - 30th May see news and events for further details

No courses at your university or college?

You might want to get started with the help of the guided meditations and resources available on this website. Have a look at the links above for more information and some guided practices, video talks and recommended books .